-----Original Message----- From: Fred H.Straumann <fstrauma@idirect.com> To: Switzerland-L@rootsweb.com <Switzerland-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Sunday, January 02, 2000 7:59 PM Subject: Definition of <Meyer> >Hi Listers, >I'm translating my Familytree from German to English. Some ancestor's >occupation was : <Meyer> as in Meyerhansjoggi. (Hansjoggi means Hans >Jakob.) >What is the definition of <Meyer> . Was he a Reeve (Vogt) or Mayor >(Buergermeister) ? Any help would be greatly appreciated. > >Thanks in advance Fred Wolf.Seelentag replied: Dear Fred, are you sure this is meant to be a profession - and not referring to the surname Meyer ? To say for sure, you'd have to quote the full context. In farming villages in Bavaria the largest farm would often be called "Maier Farm" - and in many cases the owner would in later times also be the Mayor; at the time of surname creation this would have had a slightly different meaning, but still implying that the owner had a certain standing in the community. I'm not familiar with this convention in Switzerland - which doesn't mean it was not the case in cantons I'm not familiar with ;-). Best regards - Wolf Pete replied : Dear Fred, Don't bet the farm on this, but my recollection is that a Meyer was a manager of a large farm. Usually associated with dairy farms. Okay, just checked Thode's German Genealogical Dictionary. You can bet the farm. Thode's says: "Meyer" - farm administrator or tenant; dairy farmer. Pete Dear Wolf and Pete, I thank you for your speedy replies. I agree with you both and had a hunch that my forfathers with identical names, who lived in Bretzwil,Baselland : Straumann,Hans Jakob were known as <Meyerhansjoggi> meaning : Hans Jakob the Meyer, the farm owner or tenant. (Meyer in Switzerland) and (Maier in Germany,Bavaria and Austria) Thanks to both of you Fred in Richmond Hill Ontario